Human Decision- Making Processes

What Is a Decision  A reasoned choice among alternatives  Part of the broader subject…problem solving  How do we solve a problem?  Problem solving – the overall process of closing the gap between reality and a more desirable situation.  Each decision is characterized by a decision statement

Decision Statement  States what we are trying to decide A clear decision statement is important to intelligent decision making If we don’t have a clear decision statement, you cannot develop the best system to support people making that decision Begin every DSS development project by getting – or at least trying to get – a clear understanding of the decision to be made with the help of the proposed system

The Decision Process

 The Intelligence Phase Finding, identifying, and formulating the problem or situation that calls for a decision. (Deciding what to decide) The Design Phase  Where we develop alternatives  May involve a great deal of research into the available options The Choice Phase  Evaluate the alternatives and choose one of them

Types of Decisions  Structured One for which a well-defined decision-making procedure exists  Can be left to a clerk with written instructions or to a computer  Unstructured One for which all three decision phases are unstructured  We don’t know how to specify at least one aspect of each phase: its inputs, its outputs, or its internal procedures  Computers can help, but these leave more of the process to the worker  Semi structured Has some structured aspects but can’t be completely structured  Computers can provide a great deal of help  Most decision are of this type

How Business People Make Decisions  Can be categorized along three dimensions Rationality  Collect and analyze information objectively Politically  The extent to which a decision involves competition among decision makers Flexibility  The extent to which decision makers free themselves from traditional structure

The Impact of Psychological Type on Decision Making Myers-Brigg Type Inventory  Introversion/Extroversion  Sensing/Intuition  Thinking/Feeling  Judgment/Perception

The Impact of Culture on Decision Making  Organizational Culture  National Culture